extras-1

Column 2 Includables

alerts-2

extras-2

Daily Archives: May 7, 2019

Jeffrey C. Isaac(2019-05-07). When It Comes to Trump, Nancy Pelosi May Be Too Clever for Our Own Good.commondreams.orgCongressional Democrats, including (L-R) House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), Senate Finance Committee ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), talk to reporters following a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House April 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. The Democratic leaders met with Trump to discuss infrastructure. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……

WSWS(2019-05-07). Germany: FDP Congress tacks to the right.wsws.orgThe central message of the Congress was unmistakable: the Free Democrats advocate aggressive international expansion, more corporate deregulation and austerity for the working class.

Dan Corjescu(2019-05-07). It's Globalization, Stupid!counterpunch.orgThe coming presidential election is not about Trump. It's about the nation state vs globalization. If the democrats don't get that; they will surely loose no matter who becomes their eventual candidate. The recent rise of populist leaders and their nationalist agendas are surely the inevitable political reaction to the Neoliberalism of the last thirty More

Andrew Stewart(2019-05-07). Rhode Island: Eco-Allied Convergence or Divided by Trumpism?counterpunch.org When Gina Raimondo became Governor of Rhode Island in 2015, she formulated two major construction projects (ergo by default supported by the Building and Trades unions, a major political force within the Democratic Party she hails from) that could not have been more perfectly located. By proposing the construction of a fracked natural gas power More

Democracy Now!(2019-05-06). Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Makes a Comeback Under Trump Selling Mercenary Armies Around the World.democracynow.org The House Intelligence Committee has sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater. House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump's inauguration as a chance encounter. According to the Mueller report, the meeting was an attempt to establish a backchannel between the incoming Trump administration and Russia, and may have been arranged by the Trump team. The move is one of the latest actions placing…

Staff(2019-05-06). Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Makes a Comeback Under Trump.truthout.orgThe House Intelligence Committee has sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater. House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump's inauguration as a chance encounter. According to the Robert Mueller report, the meeting was an attempt to establish a backchannel between the incoming Trump administration and Russia, and may have been arranged by the Trump team. The move is one of the latest action…

Mark Gruenberg(2019-05-06). Trump Administration using the courts to kill healthcare for millions.peoplesworld.org NEW ORLEANS —The GOP couldn't kill the entire Affordable Care Act when they controlled Congress, though they tried at least 62 times. They can't completely kill it by dismantling it administratively piece by piece. So now the Trump administration wants the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, one of the most-conservative courts …

Robert Koehler(2019-05-06). Nonviolence or Nonexistence.counterpunch.orgThe day before he died, Martin Luther King said these words at a packed church in Memphis: "Men for years now have been talking about war and peace. Now no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world, it is nonviolence or nonexistence. More

Ralph Nader(2019-05-06). Note To the Environmental Community.counterpunch.orgIn 2003, political strategist Frank Luntz wrote a confidential Republican Party memo on what he called "the environmental communications battle." In that memo, Luntz advised Republicans to change the words they used to meet their ends. "The scientific debate is closing but not yet closed," he wrote. "There is still a window of opportunity to More

Staff(2019-05-06). Nancy Pelosi's "Winning" Strategy Is to Appease Centrists.truthout.orgHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells The New York Times that the way to beat Trump is not through impeachment or championing progressive causes. To win, Democrats have to be more friendly to "centrists" — which is neoliberal-speak for the donor and corporate class which owns her organization. | If you cower, they (the mythical center of the electorate) will come. | Remember how well that smarmy strategy worked out when Neville Chamberlain tried to appe…

Staff(2019-05-06). Sanders Calls for Breaking Up Big Agriculture Monopolies.truthdig.comOSAGE, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Sunday proposed a sweeping agriculture and rural investment plan to break up big agriculture monopolies and shift farm subsidies toward small family farmers. | "I think a farmer that produces the food we eat may be almost as important as some crook on Wall Street who destroys the economy," Sanders said during a campaign event in Osage, a town of fewer than 4,000 people. "Those of us who come from rural America have nothing to be ashamed about, and the time is long overdue for us to stand up and fight for our way of life." | Sanders' plan expa…

Aída Chávez(2019-05-06). New York Machine Trying to Toss Kat Brezler, Organizer for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Off Local Ballot.theintercept.comFor decades, political bosses in New York have clung to power by using the state's complicated election laws to keep primary challengers off the ballot — laws written just for that purpose. | The laws are enforced, in turn, by judges appointed by and intertwined with the very machine they are ostensibly keeping in check. | A textbook case is unfolding this week in White Plains, Westchester County, where New York's Democratic machine is trying to force a progressive Common Council candidate off the ballot. Kat Brezler is a public school teacher, but the role that has her in the machine's sights goes back to…

Germany: FDP Congress tacks to the rightwsws.org | 2019-05-07
The central message of the Congress was unmistakable: the Free Democrats advocate aggressive international expansion, more corporate deregulation and austerity for the working class.www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/07/fdpa…

Video: Turkey-led Forces Suffer Casualties in Failed Attack on Kurdish YPG Positions
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-07
The Idlib de-escalation zone and the northern part of Aleppo province are now two main sources of instability in Syria. | On May 4, the pro-Turkish National Syrian Army (NSA), backed by Turkish special forces, launched a surprise attack on positions …globalresearch.ca/turkey-led-forces-suff…

Conflicts flare between Trump and House Democratswsws.org | 2019-05-07
On a range of issues, the Trump administration is refusing to provide documents and witnesses subpoenaed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/07/barr…

It's Globalization, Stupid!
Dan Corjescu | counterpunch.org | 2019-05-07
The coming presidential election is not about Trump. It's about the nation state vs globalization. If the democrats don't get that; they will surely loose no matter who becomes their eventual candidate. The recent rise of populist leaders and their nationalist agendas are surely the inevitable political reaction to the Neoliberalism of the last thirty…counterpunch.org/2019/05/07/its-globaliz…

Trump critics drag Tiger Woods over Medal of Freedomrt.com | 2019-05-07
Golfer Tiger Woods received the highest US civilian decoration from President Donald Trump, prompting media and Democrats to brand him a Trump crony and dismiss his accomplishments in sports and life. | …rt.com/usa/458529-tiger-woods-trump-meda…

Rhode Island: Eco-Allied Convergence or Divided by Trumpism?
Andrew Stewart | counterpunch.org | 2019-05-07
When Gina Raimondo became Governor of Rhode Island in 2015, she formulated two major construction projects (ergo by default supported by the Building and Trades unions, a major political force within the Democratic Party she hails from) that could not have been more perfectly located. By proposing the construction of a fracked natural gas power…counterpunch.org/2019/05/07/rhode-island…

After Matamoros strikes, Mexican government enacts bill for "democratic unions"wsws.org | 2019-05-07
The bill is a response to the resurgence of the class struggle and a demand for the passage of the USMCA.www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/07/mexi…

Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Makes a Comeback Under Trump Selling Mercenary Armies Around the World
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-06
The House Intelligence Committee has sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater. House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump's inauguration as a chance encounter. According to the Mueller report, the meeting was an attempt to establish a backchannel between the incoming Trump administration and Russia, and may have been arranged by the Trump team. The move is one of the latest actions placing…www.democracynow.org/2019/5/6/ex_blackwa…

Ilhan Omar Speaks Out About Unbearable Conditions In Gazatelesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
U.S. congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted Sunday about the latest episode of violence in Gaza that resulted in several people killed, including many children. | RELATED: | Ceasefire Reached Between Palestinians in Gaza and Israel |…telesurenglish.net/news/Ilhan-Omar-Speak…

US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin refuses to give Trump's tax returns to Congressrt.com | 2019-05-06
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has officially refused to turn over six years of President Donald Trump's tax filings to House Democrats, declaring their request lacked a "legitimate legislative purpose." | …rt.com/usa/458523-mnuchin-trump-tax-retu…

Disgraced Trump Lawyer To Report To Prisontelesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
Michael Cohen, the disgraced lawyer who once vowed to "take a bullet" for President Donald Trump but now calls him a "con man," on Monday will begin serving a three-year prison sentence for arranging hush payments to two women who said they had sexual encounters with the president and lying to the U.S. Congress. | RELATED: | Markets Take A Hit After Trump Threatens China On Twitter | Cohen, Trump's longtime former personal attorney, must report by 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) to the Federal C…telesurenglish.net/news/Disgraced-Trump-…

Critics Condemn 'Double Dehumanization' of Palestinians by Corporate Media as Headlines Focus on Israeli Casualties
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-06
Human rights advocates and progressives in Congress on Monday slammed the corporate media for perpetuating anti-Palestinian sentiments in their reporting on the violence in Gaza and Israel over the weekend—barely mentioning Palestinians who were killed by Israeli missiles and providing no context for how the violence began. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……commondreams.org/news/2019/05/06/critics…

Mueller report row: House Dem chair calls vote to hold AG Barr in contempt of Congressrt.com | 2019-05-06
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler has scheduled a vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, after Barr's Justice Department refused to hand over an unredacted copy of the Mueller report. | …rt.com/usa/458505-barr-contempt-vote-mue…

Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Makes a Comeback Under Trump
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-05-06
The House Intelligence Committee has sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater. House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump's inauguration as a chance encounter. According to the Robert Mueller report, the meeting was an attempt to establish a backchannel between the incoming Trump administration and Russia, and may have been arranged by the Trump team. The move is one of the latest action…truthout.org/video/ex-blackwater-ceo-eri…

Trump Administration using the courts to kill healthcare for millions
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-05-06
NEW ORLEANS –The GOP couldn't kill the entire Affordable Care Act when they controlled Congress, though they tried at least 62 times. They can't completely kill it by dismantling it administratively piece by piece. So now the Trump administration wants the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, one of the most-conservative courts …peoplesworld.org/article/trump-administr…

Despite International Law, Pompeo Claims US Military Attack on Venezuela "Would Be Lawful"
Jon Queally | theantimedia.com | 2019-05-06
(CD) — After U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday morning that President Donald Trump has a "full range of options" when it comes to possible next moves against Venezuela, anti-war critics are wondering what the Democrats in Congress are prepared to do in order to curtail the administration's ongoing threat of using military force to …

Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince makes a comeback under Trump selling mercenary armies around the world
Amy Goodman | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-06
House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump's inauguration as a chance encounter.nationofchange.org/2019/05/06/ex-blackwa…

South Africa Readies for Elections, Ruling ANC Expects Wintelesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
South Africans are ready to vote on May 8 in its sixth general election since the end of the white apartheid rule in 1994. Facing a different political landscape, as almost 50 parties will compete for the favor of 26.7 million eligible voters, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is predicted to win the majority of votes. | RELATED: | South Africa: Ramaphosa Heading for Another Electoral Victory | The latest polls place the ANC, in power since 1994, with a victory of somewh…telesurenglish.net/news/South-Africa-Rea…

UN honours fallen colleagues and friends who 'risk all to promote peace'
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-06
The lives of 115 colleagues who lost their lives between the beginning of last year and the end of March, serving the United Nations, were honoured on Monday at the annual Memorial Service for Fallen Staff, in New York.news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1…

Puerto Rico Oversight Board Gets 60-day Court Extensiontelesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
A U.S. Appeals Court on Monday gave Puerto Rico's federally created financial oversight board another 60 days to allow for the constitutional reappointment of its members by President Donald Trump and the Senate. | RELATED: | White House Refers to Puerto Rico as 'That Country' as Disaster Relief Bill Stalls | The board had faced a May 16 deadline set by the Boston-based First Circuit court on Feb. 15 to be validly reappointed or replaced after creditors of the bankrupt U.S. commonwe…telesurenglish.net/news/Puerto-Rico-Over…

NAACP Opposes Michael Park's Nomination to Second Circuit, Says Failure to Support Brown V. Board is Disqualifying
Austyn Ross | naacp.org | 2019-05-06
Today, the NAACP announced its opposition to the nomination of Michael Park to the U.S Circuit Court for the Second Circuit. The Senate will vote on Mr. Park's nomination later this week. Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, made the following statement: "Next week, we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Supreme Court's seminal decision in …naacp.org/latest/naacp-opposes-michael-p…

SPLC Action Fund: Florida Legislature passes unnecessary bill that would preserve vestige of shameful Jim Crow-era voting restrictions
Scott McCoy, Senior Policy Counsel for the SPLC Action Fund | splcenter.org | 2019-05-06
The Florida Legislature on Friday passed Senate Bill 7066, a piece of legislation that is not only unnecessary but that actually contradicts the will of voters who last year approved Amendment 4, a measure that restored voting rights to people with past felony convictions who have served their sentences.splcenter.org/news/2019/05/06/splc-actio…

Kurdish Leader Ocalan Meets Lawyers for 1st Time Since 2011telesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
The leader of Turkey's militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, has met his lawyers for the first time in eight years, one of them said on Monday. | RELATED: | Kurdish-Led SDF Forces Declare Victory Against IS in Syria | "This is the first meeting with the lawyers since 2011. The meeting lasted approximately one hour," on May 2, Rezan Sarica told an Istanbul press conference. | Turkey captured Ocalan, public number enemy one…telesurenglish.net/news/Kurdish-Leader-O…

The DCCC's Anti-Progressive Policy Might Be Backfiring (2/2)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-06
In March, the DCCC announced its policy against progressive challengers of incumbent Dems. But the policy has been met with widespread scorn, and may be starting to backfire. Ryan Grim, Eugene Puryear, and Jacqueline Luqman discuss the situation…therealnews.com/stories/the-dcccs-anti-p…

Fearful Democrats and the False Allure of Policy Centrism
Paul Waldman | commondreams.org | 2019-05-06
Joe Biden is basing his candidacy on the proposition that he will be able to win over significant numbers of Republican voters, once they see that he's more moderate than other Democrats and realize what a repellent human being Donald Trump is. Here, Biden speaks during a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……commondreams.org/views/2019/05/06/fearfu…

Note To the Environmental Community
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2019-05-06
In 2003, political strategist Frank Luntz wrote a confidential Republican Party memo on what he called "the environmental communications battle." In that memo, Luntz advised Republicans to change the words they used to meet their ends. "The scientific debate is closing but not yet closed," he wrote.counterpunch.org/2019/05/06/note-to-the-…

Joe Biden Won't Blame the Republicans for Trump. That Should Disqualify Him
Mehdi Hasan | theintercept.com | 2019-05-06
Biden says Trump is the sole cause of America's political crisis — but in fact, the president is a symptom of the GOP's derangement.theintercept.com/2019/05/06/joe-biden-tr…

Are Democrats Losing Their Enthusiasm? A New Poll Gives GOP the Edge
Ilana Novick | truthdig.com | 2019-05-06
Republicans' interest bounces back after midterms, a sure sign the "blue wave" can't be counted on but must be earned in 2020.truthdig.com/articles/are-democrats-losi…

Obama Fundraisers-Turned-Ambassadors Are Back to Make It Rain for Biden
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-05-06
On the heels of a big-money fundraiser hosted by Comcast's top government affairs executive, Joe Biden's recently-made-official presidential campaign has announced another ritzy affair, hosted by former Ambassador James Costos. A slew of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fundraisers will now raise money for Obama's vice president, Biden, at Costos' Los Angeles home on May 8. | Biden's campaign announced a huge $6.3 million fundraising haul in the first 24 hours after he annou…truthout.org/articles/obama-fundraisers-…

The Indivisible Unity Pledge and the Democratic Party progressives
Michael T. Hertz | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-06
Bernie has just taken the Indivisible Unity Pledge — meaning that he will back the Democratic nominee regardless of the DNC moves to eliminate progressives from the race.nationofchange.org/2019/05/06/the-indivi…

Let the war begin: Trump versus the House Democrats and — America and its people
Michael Payne | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-06
This war he initiated is against the House Democrats and is based on political issues. But its also against this nation's democracy and the people of America.nationofchange.org/2019/05/06/let-the-wa…

Sanders Calls for Breaking Up Big Agriculture Monopolies
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-06
OSAGE, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Sunday proposed a sweeping agriculture and rural investment plan to break up big agriculture monopolies and shift farm subsidies toward small family farmers. | "I think a farmer that produces the food we eat may be almost as important as some crook on Wall Street who destroys the economy," Sanders said during a campaign event in Osage, a town of fewer than 4,000 people. "Those of us who come from rural America have nothing to be ashamed about, and the time is long overdue for us to stand up and fight for our way of life." | Sanders' plan expa…truthdig.com/articles/sanders-calls-for-…

New York Machine Trying to Toss Kat Brezler, Organizer for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Off Local Ballot
Aída Chávez | theintercept.com | 2019-05-06
For decades, political bosses in New York have clung to power by using the state's complicated election laws to keep primary challengers off the ballot — laws written just for that purpose. | The laws are enforced, in turn, by judges appointed by and intertwined with the very machine they are ostensibly keeping in check. | A textbook case is unfolding this week in White Plains, Westchester County, where New York's Democratic machine is trying to force a progressive Common Council candidate off the ballot. Kat Brezler is a public school teacher, but the role that has her in the machine's sights goes back to…theintercept.com/2019/05/06/kat-brezler-…

US Gloats Own Actions to Economically Ruin Venezuelatelesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
The United States (U.S) government's involvement in the destabilization attempts against Venezuela can no longer be denied or ignored after a document has resurfaced regarding its central role in the operations aimed to oust the legitimate and democratically elected government of the Latin American nation. | RELATED: | US Economic Bullying Devastates Venezuela: Ilhan Omar Denounces | The official document published on April 24, 2019, issued by the State Department, comprises al…telesurenglish.net/news/US-Gloats-Own-Ac…

Obama's Agriculture Secretary, Now Working for the Dairy Industry, Urges 2020 Democrats to Be Nice to the Dairy Industry
David Dayen | theintercept.com | 2019-05-06
Some dairy companies have begun to include a list of suicide prevention hotlines in the envelope with farmers' checks.theintercept.com/2019/05/06/tom-vilsack-…

Mnuchin Denies Democrats' Request for Trump Tax Returns
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-06
The treasury secretary's move is sure to set up a legal battle; the House Ways and Means Committee may subpoena the IRS or file a lawsuit.truthdig.com/articles/mnuchin-denies-dem…

Joe Biden's Presidential Campaign Pledged Not to Take Special-Interest Money — but Not His PAC
Lee Fang | theintercept.com | 2019-05-06
In his bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden pledged to reject contributions from lobbyists and corporate PACs. But he has quietly taken in more than $30,000 in donations from corporate interests through a political action committee he created in 2017. | Biden founded American Possibilities in 2017 to support Democ…theintercept.com/2019/05/06/joe-biden-pa…

Democratic Elite Could Care Less About the Life of the Party
Eric Hacopian | truthdig.com | 2019-05-06
It disdains the priorities of its voters, who largely support Medicare-for-all, the Green New Deal and ending our militarized foreign policy.truthdig.com/articles/democratic-elite-c…

Nancy Pelosi's "Winning" Strategy Is to Appease Centrists
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-05-06
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells The New York Times that the way to beat Trump is not through impeachment or championing progressive causes. To win, Democrats have to be more friendly to "centrists" — which is neoliberal-speak for the donor and corporate class which owns her organization. | If you cower, they (the mythical center of the electorate) will come. | Remember how well that smarmy strategy worked out when Neville Chamberlain tried to appe…truthout.org/articles/nancy-pelosis-winn…

Treating Gun Violence 'As the Epidemic That It Is,' Cory Booker Wins Praise for Sweeping Gun Control Plan
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-06
National gun control groups and progressives offered praise on Monday for Sen. Cory Booker's proposal "to end the gun violence epidemic," with some advocates calling the plan the most ambitious of any gun control action plan offered by the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……commondreams.org/news/2019/05/06/treatin…

The DCCC's Anti-Progressive Policy Might Be Backfiring (1/2)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-05
In March, the DCCC announced its policy against progressive challengers of incumbent Dems. But the policy has been met with widespread scorn, and may be starting to backfire. Ryan Grim, Eugene Puryear, and Jacqueline Luqman discuss the situation…therealnews.com/stories/the-dcccs-anti-p…

'Still too much': Clintons' speaking tour prices slashed, available for less than $14rt.com | 2019-05-05
Demand for tickets to Bill and Hillary Clinton's speaking tour has been so sluggish that organizers have had to slash prices to get bums on seats. It's almost as if they're a spent political force that no one wants to listen to. | …rt.com/usa/458419-clinton-speaking-tour-…

Pelosi fears Trump may borrow page from Democratic playbook by challenging 2020 election legitimacyrt.com | 2019-05-05
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned her fellow Democrats that Donald Trump may question the legitimacy of the 2020 election if he loses by a slim margin — a cowardly political tactic not seen since the Democrats lost in 2016. | …rt.com/usa/458415-nancy-pelosi-trump-dem…